11 days after Indian truck drivers were detained in PoK, deadlock continues

11 days after Indian truck drivers were detained in PoK, deadlock continues

Pakistani officials did not allow the Poonch-Rawalakote bus to cross the Chakan Da Bagh crossing point on Monday.

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Ashraf Wani

Srinagar

January 28, 2014

UPDATED: January 28, 2014 16:32 IST

Cross-LOC trade deadlock

Eleven days after 27 Indian truck drivers were held at the Chakoti Trade Facilitation Centre in Pakistani-occupied Kashmir (PoK) by the Pakistan authorities, the Cross-LoC trade deadlock still continues as authorities in PoK refused to allow a bus from India to enter on Monday.

As the Poonch-Rawalakote bus carrying 17 passengers reached the Chakan Da Bagh crossing point, Pakistan officials did not open the gate to allow the bus to enter their side. "We had to finally cancel the service. The bus was carrying 17 passengers, 14 of whom were returning home to Pakistan, while the other three were travelling to visit their relatives on the other side," an official from the Poonch district said.

Pakistan authorities have already stopped the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad peace bus service, again linking it to the trade deadlock across the LoC.

On Monday, the Director of Industries (J&K) met his counterpart from PoK at the LoC at Aman Setu (Kaman Post), but the meeting ended without any outcome. Authorities from the two sides of the border have now decided to meet again on January 30.

On January 17, police and customs officials at the Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre in Baramulla seized 114 packets of brown sugar worth Rs 100 crore from a truck coming from PoK. The truck driver and a local trader who was to receive the narcotics were arrested. Pakistani officials first claimed the driver could not be arrested as he enjoyed diplomatic immunity. Pakistan later refused to allow the return of 27 Indian drivers and their trucks to India.

On Monday, relatives of truckers protested at the Deputy Commissioner's Office in Baramulla to bring the detained drivers safely back home. Reports from PoK have suggested that one of the detained drivers was not keeping well and had to be admitted to a hospital. He was discharged, however, after the initial check-up.